Gail's, Mike's, and andreea's successive avies above, all cats, reminded me of a story from fifteen years ago. We adopted an eight-week-old, black, male kitten from the local humane society. His claws seemed a little odd, appearing from his toes closer to their tops than most cats, rather like a bear cub.
So, we named him Kuma, Japanese for "bear." My wife told the people at her office about the kitten and his name. One woman looked at my wife with amazement and asked, "Why would you give him a foreign name? He'll never recognize his name, he's an American cat!"
We both have heard the wisdom that has come out of her mouth over the years, and I assure you that she was serious.
That didn't surprise me or bother me. What bothered me is that she is qualified to vote and even to pass her thought processes on to following generations.